Infographic
There are many dangers outside for a lot of animals and cats are no exception to this. There are cat owners that lets their cats outside, not aware of the dangers in outdoors that could harm them. But with this infographic, it may give owners a bit more insight into the dangers and the importance of keeping them indoors.
Overall Story
The overall story I'm trying to convey to the audience is how by keeping cats indoors is not only good for cats but also the environment.
Target Audience
Range from children to seniors, both genders and are from rural or urban households. Plus are from middle to high class as well as occupations that doesn't have long hours or works with animals like veterinarians. They love animals, especially cats, likes being indoors most of the time, facts about cats, keeping their cats safe.
Moodboards
Before I begin the design process, I first created three moodboards based on infographics explaining why to keep cat’s indoors. Each moodboards displays different style and layout I could take for both illustrations and information. The moodboard located at the top showcases a more complex design with it mostly being text of information with little to no images. The second moodboard on the bottom left has a layout of shorten information flowing from right to left with a limited color palette and images. While the last moodboard showcased a simple layout of a smaller size and simplified information.
Sketches
After some thinking and feedback, I decided to combine some ideas from the three moodboards into my sketches to have a balance of complex but simple designs. So, I created a total of 20 sketches, each showcasing different layouts for the information while keeping a simple design. Most of the sketches with the exceptions of 2, 3, 4, and 15, has information within a shape surrounding a illustration of a cat or within a cat shape. While sketches 2, 3, 4, and 15 as information on the side of an illustration. Due to the amount of space, I decided to also limit the information by five points such as: Life, poison, illness, stealing, and dangers outside. As these are some of the main information that is shown in most infographics based on this topic.
It was once believed that indoor cats typically enjoyed a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years, while outdoor cats were believed to only live 2 to 5 years. This is due to diseases, vehicle collisions, sudden weather changes. predations from wild animals, etc. Plus, cats are not native in just one area and they injure and kill many native species like birds and rodents. They hunt by instinct even when they're not hungry. Bells, cat bibs and similar items do not eliminate successful hunting.
Outdoor cats can contract or transmit diseases and parasites including toxoplasmosis, rabies, feline leukemia, feline herpes, tapeworms, fleas, etc. Having them indoors reduces the risk of contracting or transmitting diseases and parasites.
There are certain plants that can be poisonous for a cat, even nibbling a small portion can lead to a cats death if not treated. By keeping them indoors help lessen the risk of poisoning.
If cats are outdoors, Bunchers are people who sell cats to laboratories for animal experimentation or research. As well as being lost as sometimes when cats do escape. they don't recoginze where they are. By keeping your cats inside, they are less likely to become lost or stolen. Even with all the precautions you may take as an owner, tragedies can still strike.
Letting your cats roam around outside can lead to getting into territory disputes with other cats in the area. Those disputes can even turn violent. Cat fights often result in bites, scratches, infections and even abscesses. Which form when a bite becomes infected and are extremely painful for the cat.
After conversations with potential adopters and current pet owners, we’ve come to realize that people are unaware of the dangers of having “outdoor” cats.
Unlike dogs, who are outside on leashes or watched in the backyard, cats who are let outdoors are often allowed to roam freely until they feel like coming home. This leaves your pet cat vulnerable to lots of preventable outdoor accidents.
Information
Along with my sketches, I did some research into the five main points I wanted to put into my infographic. I looked in to websites that has information about the dangers of letting one’s cat go outside. So I grabbed all the information I could gather but still kept it simple and had them listed in small paragraphs, so it will be easier to put into the infographic. Along with it not being too much information. I plan to combine the last two paragraphs as they are similar to each other and I would have five main points needed.
Option #1
Through the feedback I received, I began making three digital design options. For this option I went with sketch #2, I sketched out a gray cat with blue eyes and five symbols which are: Pawprint, lily flower, virus, thief with bag, and a sun. The symbols are to represent the five main information that I gathered during my research. I made the symbols to be smaller than the cat as I and without an outline to be different from the cat, and act like a bullet point. For the type, I went with a serif font and big point size for the title and a sans serif font and smaller point size for the body text. I placed the title above the cat and the info beside the symbols. The color palette concise of grays, dark blue, black, light green, yellow, pink and yellow. The background is a gradient of shades of blue.
Option #2
In this design, I used sketch #14 as a base and made some changes to it by adding a fifth symbol to it and got rid of side text. Like the first option, I used the symbols, information, and fonts in this design but a different layout by having the information being on top of the symbol in a white color to be more visible. I had the symbols surrounding a curled up cat by using an ellipse tool to make a circle. I placed the title at the bottom of the design and enlarged the symbols to be bigger than the cat.
Option #3
In this design, I used sketch #16 from the sketches and the symbols, information, and fonts from the first and second options. I made the background a lime-green color with three brown rectangles and a gray wall making it look like the cat is peaking over it. Along with adding white rectangles on the wall, the rectangles are meant to look like they are shelves and pattern on the walls. In the rectangles are the information with the symbols next to them and the title being placed on the cat’s head.
Poster Drafts
After the drafts, I took options #1 and #3 to revise and improve on in another round of drafts. For the first draft on the left, I shorten some of the information present since there were too much present and can’t be read in a few minutes. I also got rid of the outline on the cat so it would match with the symbols. While for the draft on the right, I also shorten the information down and changed the size of the brown boxes to be a bit closer to the text but still have some space. As well as center aligning the text to be in the middle of the boxes and symbols being moved to be in the middle.
Final
With feedback, the left design was chosen, I went back and refined it by first changing the size of the infographic to a poster size. Then, I made edits to the cat by adding another ear and increasing the mouth stroke and dots to be a bit bigger and visible. I then redesigned the lily flower and virus symbols to look more recognizable. After that I sized the symbols down a bit and had them placed in a straight line with equal space between each other with the cat being moved a bit down to avoid being to close to the symbols. As for the type, I had the text moved a bit to the left to put some space and changed the fonts as the first options were a bit hard to read but still kept them sans serifs and serifs. And I added some subheads, one of them formerly being the title, to help viewers understand what the infographic is about and the topics. Along with a little information text at the bottom to show where I gathered some of my information. Along with the infographic, I created six Instagram posts to showcase the information in that format. the first being a title card with the cat and the symbols. While for the rest are each point being explained, type are all centered, with it’s respected symbol.